Nov. 11, 2012

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Emergency scene investigators and Citizens Energy Group employees continue to survey the destroyed homes along Fieldfare Way on the Far Southside of Indianapolis. An explosion late Saturday night leveled homes and sparked fires in the Richmond Hill subdivision, near Stop 11 and Sherman Drive. / (Matt Kryger / The Star)

Jennifer Longworth, a teacher at Southwest Elementary School in Greenwood, was killed in a house explosion in Indianapolis Saturday. (Photo provided by Longworth Family)

Meetings for displaced residents of Southeastside Indy neighborhood

Indianapolis Department of Code Enforcement officials have set up two meetings today for residents in the Richmond Hill neighborhood wanting to get back in their homes as quickly as possible. A range of topics will be covered, including walkthroughs of damaged structures to short- and long-term solutions for occupancy.Representatives from Code Enforcement will be at Southport Presbyterian Church, 7525 McFarland Blvd., at 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. In addition to these meetings, residents may call the DCE hotline at (317) 327-8454 or email DCE.constructionservices@indy.gov

Dion Longworth was killed in a house explosion in Indianapolis Saturday. (Photo provided by Longworth Family)

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A teacher at Southwest Elementary School in Greenwood and her husband were believed to have died in the explosion late Saturday night on the Far Southside.

Jennifer L. and John D. Longworth lived at one of the homes destroyed in the blast in the Richmond Hill neighborhood. Authorities recovered two bodies from their home, but they have refused to confirm that the Longworths were the presumed victims.

Superintendent David Edds said Greenwood Schools will be on a two-hour delay Monday to give staff a chance to prepare for how they will break the news to students.

“We have not been able to confirm anything but we know one of the addresses was hers,” Edds said. “We’re expecting the worst, to be quite honest.”

Counselors will be available at Southwest on Monday. Jennifer Longworth taught second grade and was “a wonderful teacher,” Edds said.

“If it was her, our heart goes out to the family,” Edds said. “She’ll truly be missed.”

The Marion County coroner’s office will review dental records and consult with an expert before officially identifying the victims, said Chief Deputy Coroner Alfie Ballew.

Ballew declined to confirm the names, but she said the coroner’s office has met with the family of the victims.